OPETH Frontman Talks About Making Of 'Heritage' In New Video Interview

September 22, 2011

On September 20, Sam "Blammymatazz" Hatch, host of the Hartford, Connecticut metal radio program "The House Of Zazz", conducted an interview with guitarist/vocalist Mikael kerfeldt of Swedish progressive metallers OPETH at the Webster Theater prior to the band's second performance on their current U.S. tour. Mikael discussed the difficulties of being away from home; first-show jitters; the recording process for the band's new album, "Heritage"; uncool '80s stage moves; death metal vocals versus clean vocals; and the influence of Ronnie James Dio. You can now watch the chat below.

"The House Of Zazz" can be heard Tuesday nights/Wednesday mornings from midnight until 3 a.m. Eastern Time on 91.3 FM WWUH (in Connecticut) and streaming live via the Internet at www.wwuh.org.

"Heritage" is likely to sell between 15,000 and 18,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to industry web site Hits Daily Double. The estimate was based on one-day sales reports compiled after the record arrived in stores on September 20 via Roadrunner Records.

OPETH's previous studio CD, 2008's "Watershed", opened with more than 19,000 units to land at No. 23 on The Billboard 200 chart.

"Watershed" was the follow-up to the band's acclaimed "Ghost Reveries" CD, which debuted at No. 64 on the Billboard chart back in September 2005 with first-week sales of just under 15,000. OPETH's 2003 album, "Damnation", opened with a little over 5,000 copies.

"Heritage" was produced by OPETH vocalist/guitarist Mikael kerfeldt and was recorded earlier this year at Atlantis studios (formerly Metronome studios) in Stockholm. Mixing duties were handled by Steven Wilson (PORCUPINE TREE) and kerfeldt. Longtime collaborator Travis Smith also worked with kerfeldt to create, design and execute the album's artwork, which can be seen below.

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